This invention concerns food cutters and more particularly food cutters adapted to be used in conjunction with a dishwasher pump assembly. Such cutters are utilized in conventional dishwasher designs to eliminate food particles which remain on the dishware items and which are flushed away during the rinse cycle. Such food particles must be eliminated from the water circulation system as they have a tendency to clog the jet spray orifices in the spray arms normally provided in conventional dishwasher designs.
In early dishwasher designs there were placed fine screens at the inlet of the dishwasher circulation which captured the food particles to insure that such particles would not be introduced into the circulation system. The resultant need for frequent clean-out of the screen led to the introduction of food cutters in conjunction with a relatively coarse grading screen. The food cutters are mounted immediately upstream of the grading screen and are adapted to cooperate with the grading screen which captures large size food particles, enabling them to be contacted by a food cutter arm so as to be reduced to a size to allow them to be eliminated during the rinse cycle.
Such food cutters are designed to only handle relatively soft food particles and, accordingly, if a hard food particle or foreign object is captured by the grading screen the food cutter cannot effectively comminute the article and the grading screen thus acts to merely capture the article, with a capturing trap upstream of the inlet providing periodic clean out.
Such food cutters are driven by the same drive as the circulation pump impeller and, accordingly, it is important that the cutter mechanism is not jammed or broken upon contacting such articles, particularly when they are lodged in the grading element so as to present a fixed resistance. Heretofore, attempts have been made to allow the cutter arm to accommodate such items without jamming.
An example of one approach which has been proposed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,456, assigned to the assignee of the present application.
In that patent the cutter element comprises a helically wound wire element which is anchored to an extension of the pump impeller shaft and having an extended cutting arm comprised of a terminal section of the wire form extending from the wound section. The helically wound section is largely unsupported such that the arm may allow extension and tilting of the cutter arm to thereby enable deflecting movements of the cutter arm to accommodate the encountering of such particles. While greatly improving the performance of the food cutter in this regard, it is still possible for articles to be jammed in the grading member in such a manner as to not enable tipping or axial movement of the cutter arm upon contact of the same, such that a jamming condition could still result since it has no capability for slipping of the cutter with respect to the cutter drive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a food cutter for such applications in which the capability of the cutter to accommodate contact with such foreign or hard food objects without breakage and with a minimum tendency to create a jammed condition.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a food cutter which is extremely simple and low in cost to fabricate and which operates in a highly reliable and predictable manner, consistent with the design criteria applied to such components incorporated in home appliances.